The thanks you get for asskissing

President Donald Trump has a penchant for calling out the names of key supporters at his campaign events, and a Friday rally in Ocala, Florida was no different — but he badly botched the name of one of his most vocal fans in Congress, mixing up Rep. Matt Gaetz’s name with that of Rick Gates, a former Trump aide who pled guilty to crimes related to Russian interference in the 2016 election and pro-Putin efforts in Ukraine.

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Gates was sentenced to 45 days in jail, 3 years of probation, a $20,000 fine, and 300 hours of community service, a reduced sentence due to his testimony against Manafort and cooperation with the Mueller investigation. Due to the pandemic, Gates’ prison sentence has been temporarily suspended by court order.

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At Friday’s rally, Trump again criticized Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who was the target of an attempted scheme to kidnap and murder her.

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“And then she said it was my fault,” said Trump, about Whitmer. “It was my people that caught them. It was Trump’s fault. It’s always Trump’s fault.”

“Can it ever be, like, Rick Gates’ fault?” Trump continued, as he pointed to Gaetz, who was near the stage to Trump’s left. “I mean, eh? It’s always Trump’s fault, Rick.”

  Mediaite

I wish we had a picture of the moment that surely happened when Gaetz' face went from a beaming smile to a sad baby.

The president then launched into a short riff ranting about “shameless, wealthy, liberal hypocrites in Washington, D.C. and Silicon Valley,” saying that he didn’t “want their money” and didn’t call them and didn’t want to help them.

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“We are going to win,” said Trump, “that’s why they raise money. I could raise much more money. Every call I make. Every single guy, even though they hated me, they’d all contribute. But Rick, you understand it, I don’t want to make those calls.”

People in the crowd started shouting “Matt” and “Matt Gaetz,” trying to get Trump to say the right name.

Gasp! How dare they!

Trump continued, still saying the wrong name a few more times as the crowd kept trying. “I don’t want to make those calls, right? Huh? Yeah, I know. Where is Rick? He’s here. Where is Rick? Where is Rick?”

Old Dimbulb didn't know what they were yelling, or why.

Finally, the president got the right moniker for the congressman. “So, I just want to thank everybody, and we do have some special people. Uhh, Matt, stand up. Come here, I just want to tell something. This guy, Matt Gaetz. So, Matt’s been another one of our stars.”

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“How are we doing in Florida, Matt? Huh?” Trump asked. Gaetz grinned and held up his arms as the crowd cheered.

Somebody got word to him. Was he wearing an earpiece? Saying his name three times in succession to make sure you know he knows.

Poor Matt.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE: